Mr. Speakers tunes the Alpha Dogs to achieve a more flat frequency response resulting in a neutral sound. There are a couple of frequency peaks that are tougher to tame. Stock Fostex driver materials tolerances magnify these problems. Mr. Speakers is employing just enough parts of the obedience kit to get a flatter frequency response for a specific pair of Alpha Dogs being tested.

Now the obedience kit itself has many components to tailor the sound from neutral to a warmer sound (like rolling tubes in an amp for example). Many variables come in to play here: what amp is being used, source material, alignment of cans on your head, & most importantly ... how good is the listener's hearing. The kit lets you achieve what Mr. Speakers is doing, or you can make it sound different to suit your needs.

It is a really subtle but useful change. It doesn't change the signature in the sense I think many of you are perhaps thinking. If you listened to an original Alpha Dog production vs new, what you'd hear tonally is that the highs are simply better integrated, smoother and more balanced. It is technically fairly close to reducing 4.3 and 8.6K by about 2 dB, but it does a bit more.

Because of the physics of what the dot is doing to reduce those peaks it enhances the sound in a couple of other ways, as well; increasing the sense of dark space and improving soundstage and imaging.

The felt discs are there for people who may prefer a slightly darker overall tonal balance. One makes a minor shift, two makes it fairly dramatic, too much so for me but some people like that darker tone. If you have paired with really bright sources, for example, or if you are just one of the people who wants a top end "soft" of neutral they are available.

One dot with one disc can sound pretty nice on some phones. I liken it to tube rolling on the Lyr or Liquid Glass. It doesn't become a new amp, but you can dial it in.

Dan, as much as I love my Alpha Dogs, I'm always interested in pursuing "better." What are these dots and how do I get them? I don't see anything like this on the Mr. Speakers web site... unless I'm just not looking in the right place.

Nice review by Steven Stone whom I highly respect. He also writes for The Absolute Sound & Stereophile, & does a good job covering RMAF.

This quote is of particularly high praise:

"I have yet to hear another closed-ear earphone at even double the price that achieves the same level of sonic finesse as the Alpha Dog. Sonic competition for this set of headphones starts at a substantially higher price tag, which is the new $1,799 Audeze LCD-XC closed-cup design."Edited by brother love - 2/26/14 at 10:53am

It is a really subtle but useful change. It doesn't change the signature in the sense I think many of you are perhaps thinking. If you listened to an original Alpha Dog production vs new, what you'd hear tonally is that the highs are simply better integrated, smoother and more balanced. It is technically fairly close to reducing 4.3 and 8.6K by about 2 dB, but it does a bit more.

Pretty much this. I'll never know for sure how much that missing screw affected what I heard, but if you go back and read my initial impressions, I was quite fond of the AD after EQing down those peaks (not so much without). What I'm hearing the 2nd time around is not far off from that (i.e. not absolutely perfect, but easily recommended and would consider purchasing myself), so I'm genuinely excited to further dig into these tonight. Far from subtle to these ears, but YMMV.

I will say that I had a very hard time getting a good position, fit, and seal with these. Half the time I have to keep them in place with my hands. They seem to have stabilized after a while, though, so we'll see...often comes loose just as I thought I had it or shift a bit, ha. Most of the problem is that I don't want to mess with the headband to better shape my head, since this is just a loaner and not my own.

Dan, as much as I love my Alpha Dogs, I'm always interested in pursuing "better." What are these dots and how do I get them? I don't see anything like this on the Mr. Speakers web site... unless I'm just not looking in the right place.

It is a really subtle but useful change. It doesn't change the signature in the sense I think many of you are perhaps thinking. If you listened to an original Alpha Dog production vs new, what you'd hear tonally is that the highs are simply better integrated, smoother and more balanced. It is technically fairly close to reducing 4.3 and 8.6K by about 2 dB, but it does a bit more.

Pretty much this. I'll never know for sure how much that missing screw affected what I heard, but if you go back and read my initial impressions, I was quite fond of the AD after EQing down those peaks (not so much without). What I'm hearing the 2nd time around is not far off from that (i.e. not absolutely perfect, but easily recommended and would consider purchasing myself), so I'm genuinely excited to further dig into these tonight. Far from subtle to these ears, but YMMV.

I will say that I had a very hard time getting a good position, fit, and seal with these. Half the time I have to keep them in place with my hands. They seem to have stabilized after a while, though, so we'll see...often comes loose just as I thought I had it or shift a bit, ha. Most of the problem is that I don't want to mess with the headband to better shape my head, since this is just a loaner and not my own.

Position is key as I found. I rotate the pads such that the fat end's top corner is lined up with the headband. After that, I found that the best sound was when my ears were in the bottom corner of the fat end of the earpad. At least that's what it was like for my ears/head shape.

It is a really subtle but useful change. It doesn't change the signature in the sense I think many of you are perhaps thinking. If you listened to an original Alpha Dog production vs new, what you'd hear tonally is that the highs are simply better integrated, smoother and more balanced. It is technically fairly close to reducing 4.3 and 8.6K by about 2 dB, but it does a bit more.

And this is why Dan said that there is some variation between individual headsets and some may need this and some may not.

I did the 4.3k and 8.6k -2db with an excellent digital parametric EQ inside Jriver MC19, and I prefer the overall sound quality without that reduction. Some very nice micro-details get removed.

I also never had a sense that there were treble peaks in my Alpha Dogs, so I think I simply have an Alpha Dog made from Fostex T50RP that does not have the peaks.

This is why Dan mentioned that is you don't hear a problem with your Alpha Dogs, then there is likely no problem.

has anyone here made their own cables for their ADs? i'm making a lightweight travel cable and have most of it done, but haven't soldered the ends to the adapters (the parts that attach to the earpieces) because i can't figure out which terminals to connect. on the mrspeakers site he gives the wire configuration for L and R: https://www.mrspeakers.com/MrSpeakers-Alpha-Dog-Headphone

but if i have two wires going to each cup and there are four pins in the connector part, which pins should i solder to? the pins are not numbered as far as i can tell...i feel like there's something simple that i'm missing.

has anyone here made their own cables for their ADs? i'm making a lightweight travel cable and have most of it done, but haven't soldered the ends to the adapters (the parts that attach to the earpieces) because i can't figure out which terminals to connect. on the mrspeakers site he gives the wire configuration for L and R: https://www.mrspeakers.com/MrSpeakers-Alpha-Dog-Headphone

but if i have two wires going to each cup and there are four pins in the connector part, which pins should i solder to? the pins are not numbered as far as i can tell...i feel like there's something simple that i'm missing.

any help would be appreciated. thanks.

Hopefully below pic should help you. You can solder any one pair or both together.